SCOTUS Oral Argument in Preemption Case: Williamson v. Mazda

The Supreme Court heard oral argument yesterday in Williamson v. Mazda Motor of America, Inc. (08-1314), which presents the question:

Where Congress has provided that compliance with a federal motor vehicle safety standard “does not exempt a person from liability at common law,” 49 U.S.C. § 30103(e), does a federal minimum safety standard allowing vehicle manufacturers to install either lap-only or lap/shoulder seatbelts in certain seating positions impliedly preempt a state common-law claim alleging that the manufacturer should have installed a lap/shoulder belt in one of those seating positions?

The transcript from the oral argument is available here. SCOTUSblog’s casefile has links to the briefs. For additional coverage, see Bloomberg and How Appealing.

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